Love Via Email
by Random Fandom
Summary: “You’ve got mail!” chirped the deep yet cheerful voice of the AOL mail announcer. Frustrated, Seto was determined to ignore it. He had more important things to do... A love story that grows from two people's emails. Slash! SetoX? Rated T for later ch
1. You've Got Mail!

Disclaimer: I don't really own Seto, I only chain him up in my basement for indefinite amounts of time. The mysterious letter writer isn't mine either.

Warning: Slash! That means a boyXboy relationship. It's Shounen-Ai, meaning it will only include boys making out, not other more explicit things. That stands for the time being. But I never do know what my fingers will type out…

RF: This is a little slash piece I'm writing. I'm not telling you the pairing, it's meant to be a surprise. I warn you, I have almost no time for writing, so don't expect decent updates. The chapters will probably be short too, just because I'm so bad at writing long chapters. Quality over quantity, after all. I don't know where I'm going with this either…Just that it involves a lot of e-mails. . On with the fic!

__

-Pale skin, almost white, unblemished and untouched.

Red lips the color of cherries, don't get used too much.

Sharp nose, slightly upturned, makes for a sharp profile.

Chin sharper still, curved perfectly, a charm of beguile.

Tongue tinged pink, sticks out when hard work calls,

Let's lose with stinging wit that rings throughout the halls.

And eyes-oh eyes-of perfect blue, the color of the sea.

A frozen ice wasteland that burrows so deep within me.

Hair the color of chestnuts, and the tall slender frame

A fierceness, animalistic, ambition that can't be tamed.

The cold walls of self-exclusion give me such a fright.

Sometimes I wonder, when I can't get to sleep at night.

Why it is you act that way to all the people around you?

Is it because their stupidity simply astounds you?

Or is it something deeper, a need to hide your true self?

Or a need to take your soul out and put it high upon the shelf?

A devilish smirk lights you up with beams from far above.

So now I tell you simply. You are my one, my only, my love.

-Signed, your secret admirer-

Click. Send.

"You've got mail!" chirped the deep yet cheerful voice of the AOL mail announcer. Frustrated, Seto was determined to ignore it. He had more important things to do, like work on the schematics for his new game system. The color display was all wrong. No, he certainly didn't have time for nonsense.

The little envelope kept dancing. It did a jig left, it did a jig right. Bouncing back and forth. It wiggled to the left and then to the right, then back to the left. It did a back-flip. Really, it was getting irritating. Seto tried to ignore it, even closed the screen that had it. But it kept popping back up and boogieing.

So finally he clicked it, if only to shut it up. The message popped up immediately. Cerulean blue eyes scanned the page, astonished. Though he was unaware, Seto's mouth was parted in the smallest expression of amazement possible. After a few moments, he subconsciously closed it. But his eyes remained wide. All his movements had stopped. His fingers weren't tapping impatiently on the desk, his foot wasn't tapping impatiently on the floor. Even his breathing appeared to have stopped.

A love note? To him? Who in the world would be writing a love note to him?

Perhaps it was just a joke. Yes, he decided that must be it. Some foolish practical joker in his class had discovered his e-mail and was now writing fake love letters to him in an attempt to shame him. Probably Yugi's pet, the puppy who called himself a duelist. Simultaneously he decided it wasn't funny.

Hitting the reply button at the top of the page, Seto typed out a quick reply to the note. It read something like this:

-_Listen loser, I don't need to be disturbed by your pathetic attempts to embarrass me. I have a job to do. Your little joke really isn't funny. I'm not laughing. Please make no further attempt to contact me again or I may have to call up the company and have them track you down so I can personally kick your ass. Signed, Seto Kaiba_-

After sending that he figured that would be the end. The prankster would realize that he was quite serious in his threat to call the company and hunt him down, that it was entirely within his power, and not bother him any longer. He nodded to himself and went back to work.

No sooner had he pulled up his blueprints, however, when the annoying voice sounded again.

"You've got mail!" Sometimes he wondered who that man was. When he called up AOL he'd have to remember to ask that too, so a hit could be put out on the guy. Without wasting time trying to ignore it he opened it up and read what he assumed to be some idiotic reply. He was stunned again; only four words were written on the page.

-_This is no joke._-

The empty silence rang in his ears for ages. His eyes were unfocused on the computer screen. Unbeknownst to him, his had gone quite pale and also knocked over several important papers. Not a joke? Then what?

As he recovered, a smirk crept up into Seto's icy eyes. Of course. He was, after all, rather handsome. Not to mention his amazing skills at duel monsters, poker, and any other game shoved under his nose if you gave him three seconds. Then naturally there was his wealth, his stunning businessman ship, the fact that he owned his own company at sixteen. Don't forget the IQ of one hundred eighty two. It was only natural for some teenage girls to be fawning over him. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if there was a secret club somewhere. A secret fan club dedicated to him. Yes, that made perfect sense. After all, if Devlin got one why shouldn't he have one?

Still, he could not tolerate a love life interfering with his already over-busy work schedule. He was an important man, with important things to do. There was no time for such a childish affair as love. Whoever this secret admirer was, he'd just have to break her heart. One time of many that he foresaw in the future. Maybe there was already a support group ready to handle it. In any case, it wasn't his concern. With a few quick clicks and steady quick fingers he had his response.

-_Not a joke you say? Well in that case, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I'm sure this won't come as a shock to you, but I have a very important life. I'm very busy. I have no time for such a trivial thing. Please don't grow embittered, it's my only option for you. Again, I am sorry. Sincerely, Seto Kaiba_-

He sent the e-mail and pulled up his diagram page, thinking that to be the end of it. Oh how very wrong he was.

RF: Oh! I forgot to tell you. Mostly when I write I put things in italics, but then makes them change to normal writing. So I've started putting them in between dashes too. So all words like this "-blah-" are meant to be italicized. And might also erase my page breaks. If it does it might get a tincy bit confusing as to where my story ends and authoress notes begin, but you shouldn't be too confused. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the fic and please review! I might just die if you don't (or at the very least not continue)!


	2. The Chain of Communication

RF: I love you all! I'm so glad you liked this. It was the most random idea that I just had to write. Well, I'm sorry I didn't update this faster. I have an amazingly busy life, and when I finally get the chance to write it comes out screwy. I hope to write more soon, and please enjoy this chapter in the mean time.

If you want the disclaimer and warnings they were in the first chapter. Go reread them. Rating still stands at whatever it is, and so far I'm only certain that there will be make-out scenes between boys sometime in the not too distant future. Now that the "legal" stuff is out of the way, on with the fic!

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-_Too busy I can understand. You do have your own company to run and Mokuba to take care of. But calling love trivial? I find that inexcusable. Love is like oxygen! Love is, well, love. There's nothing quite like it. It's wonderful. One day you'll see that too. Please let me write to you. If you don't , I think I'll die. Sincerely, your secret admirer._-

Seto was furious. This girl wouldn't leave him alone! He was very busy, couldn't she understand that? He fumed as he munched his morning toast, careful not to get crumbs in the keyboard. Well he didn't have time to write to her now. He'd be late for the early bell if he didn't hurry, and he wouldn't stand to let someone beat his attendance record.

----

With the air of one who was above this sort of thing, Seto Kaiba marched through the deserted halls towards the counselor's. Honestly, this was stupid. He could be using this valuable break period to organize some paperwork. Instead he would be pretending to believe the counselor pretending to care. Two years ago Seto had made the very foolish mistake of dropping his defenses and explaining to someone-someone he had trusted, mind you-his situation with Giovani. That someone had gone to the school counselor, who had been trying to schedule him in ever since. There had already been a few unsuccessful attempts to bring him in after school, but he'd always found one way or another to get around it. Now that he had dropped writing classes, Seto had a free period. The counselor, seeing her opportunity, had arranged him for peer counseling. This time there were no excuses.

Jerking open the door, Seto entered the waiting room. He didn't need to say who he was; the woman behind the desk pointed to a door. His heals clicked sharply on the tile flooring as he went through to this office.

The first things he noticed were the pictures. Duel monsters, some fighting together, some flying majestically through the sky, some swimming. The biggest one was a Blue Eyes White Dragon. The metallic bluish silver scales glinted perfectly in the light of a full white moon. Stars twinkled around it's head, which was stretched up into the sky. It's wings were unfurled, curling gracefully backwards. The eyes, however, were the most perfect of all. Beautiful cobalt blue, with deep black pupils which matched the sky behind it. They looked so soft, so infinite, so…blue. One the night sky the other the dark ocean, paired together perfectly and endlessly.

"Do you like it?" asked a soft, faintly masculine voice. Melodic, it echoed with hints of a British accent. Seto arrested his eyes from those of the dragon's and turned to see a familiar face behind the desk of papers. It was one of Yugi's little tag-a-longs, a duelist too. He had fairly feminine hair, long and wavy. One might almost say spikey. His eyes were brown, plain brown. Nothing interesting or out of the ordinary about him, really. The kind of person who would fade easily into background. Seto's memory had a very hard time giving the boy a name, though he was sure he'd heard it many times.

"Bakura." Seto said, after a long pause. His voice was icy as always; it didn't register the surprise he felt.

"That picture has always been one of my favorites, a real beauty if I do say so myself." Ryou Bakura replied as he stood.

"You painted that?" Seto asked, his voice void of emotion. Bakura nodded and smiled.

"Yes, all of them. Please, have a seat." He motioned to a couch.

Seto didn't move immediately. He remained standing, his face frozen into a façade of perfect indifference. His arms crossed, apparently on their own. With a slight turn of the head, he managed to look both bored and angry at once. The silence stretched on; Bakura's polite smile and plain brown eyes drilled into Seto's brain till he was numb. He didn't blink, even though it made his eyes water. After a few moments, Bakura's smile faultered. Smirk dominating his face, Seto haughtily sat down on the blue couch. Bakura closed the door softly and returned to his desk.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" the albino boy asked quietly.

"I don't. I was forced to come here, against my will, and I'd much rather be doing something important." Seto answered him.

"I see."

There was a pause. Seto looked around the room some more. For the first time he noticed everything was blue. The walls were pastel blue, the door was navy. Even the window panes were tainted a soft blue. Most of the duel monsters pictures were blue as well. He scoffed softly.

"You have a theme going here." Seto remarked.

"Yes." Bakura admitted, and after a breath continued, "We got to decorate our own offices. I like blue."

For some reason Seto glanced back at Bakura for a moment. The boy behind the desk was staring, gently, like he was waiting for something. Their eyes locked. A deeply jarring emotion slammed it's way into Seto, jolting every major organ in his body. Unintentionally he recoiled and drew a sharp breath. Bakura blinked quickly and looked away.

"It's a good color." Seto admitted, concentrating on a loose stitching on a pillow. Bakura nodded, giving the window blinds a good looking over. The room was silent for a very long time, the only sound their breathing. Finally Seto spoke up. His voice very demanding, he asked, "Do you mind if I do something else?"

Bakura glanced at his face. It seemed if he told Seto no it would do no good. He shrugged. "We're not allowed to force you to tell us anything. I suppose if you wanted to do something else you could."

"Good." With that, Seto settled back against the couch and fell asleep.

----

The sound of tapping keys woke him. Bakura was typing furiously away at something on a laptop. The sun's dying light was shining behind him, making his hair glint a little. To the average observer it would have looked like an angelic halo over his head. Seto didn't notice this. Instead he yawned and stood. Bakura looked up at this movement. The typing noise stopped as he closed his laptop.

"Is school over yet?" Seto asked. He had none of the usual just-woke-up qualities. His hair wasn't messed, his eyes weren't blurry, and his speech wasn't slurred or clouded. Bakura opened his mouth to answer just as the bell cut him off. He closed his mouth and smiled up at the brunette. The taller boy didn't return the smile. In place of it he grimaced and rolled his eyes. Casually he picked up his briefcase and started out of the room. Bakura's voice stopped him.

"See you tomorrow, Kaiba." Bakura called.

"Not if I can help it." Seto answered. He didn't turn back to see Bakura's frown; he just kept walking until he was out in the crowded halls.

----

The clock was ticking towards midnight when Seto crawled into bed. He hadn't even bothered to stop and change into different clothing. Someone had screwed something up at KaibaCorp again, and after firing the incompetent person he had had to fix it. That had spent the remainder of his day. It was just lucky for him that he did all of his homework in class.

As he was pulling the blankets neatly all the way up to his chin, Seto remembered something. One long arm reached out from under the blankets and grabbed his personal laptop computer. Sitting up in bed, he opened it and turned it on. After it had started up, Seto accessed the internet and wrote out a quick e-mail. Then he sent it and turned of his computer. Laying it on the nightstand, he rolled over and fell asleep.

----

In a dark room not unlike Seto's, only much smaller, another laptop beeped that it had acquired a new e-mail. The laptop's owner clicked on the little mailbox symbol and opened this e-mail. It read:

-_Love is insanity. It makes perfectly rational people act completely insane. It's just a simple chemical reaction in the brain that makes people think they need other people. A way of tricking the brain into continuing the species. Fools fall for it. Idiots believe in it._

_Seemingly telling you not to e-mail me isn't going to work. So I'll allow you to write to me. But don't expect me to write back. I'm much too busy for this. Really. Sincerely, Seto Kaiba-_

The white light of the computer screen lit up it's owner's smile. The sound of typing could be heard as another e-mail was written. So began the chain of communication between Seto Kaiba and his secret admirer.

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RF: Yeah…I'm not so good at secrecy. But oh well. I hope everyone liked this chapter. Promise to write more soon. I have a break now for Christmas so I should be able to write another chapter soon. Review! Please! Otherwise I really will stop.


	3. Kittens and Chess

RF: I love you guys! You make me want to write, not just feel obligated. I knew most of you would guess; I'm really bad at secrecy. It's ok Chibi Chib, if it were someone else's fic I never would have guessed it either. Anyways, on with the fic!

Legal stuff is all in the first chapter, nothing has changed.

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Wind howled and whipped the long trench coat against his legs as Seto headed into a department store. He scowled and pulled his collar up. Although it was warmer in here, Seto still felt chilly. A very stupid love song was blasting on the store radio circuit right above his ears. Mentally cursing the singer, he moved away and kept far from any speakers. Steeling himself for the overly cheerful employees and customers, Seto set about completing his mission here as fast as possible.

Being a teenager, running a business, trying to go to school, and raising a ten year old brother was very much a hassle. Often times a few things had to be put aside to deal with the more important. For Seto, this meant having any sort of normal life as a teenager was out of the question. Taking care of Mokuba got very difficult at times too, and the kid didn't appreciate it. More often than not Seto had to forgo the care of his brother in an effort to keep his company afloat. At these times Mokuba was left in the competent care of the house employed staff. This, however, made the younger Kaiba miss his big brother. As apology Seto liked to buy Mokuba whatever he wished for, thinking that material possessions could replace his love. There certainly were many things Seto Kaiba didn't understand about love.

Seto fixed his step determinedly for the toy section. Mokuba wanted a new video game; he'd beaten all his old ones. Of course, being a rich man Kaiba could have easily sent out a maid to do this. But that would had defeated the whole purpose.

On his way to the video game shelves Seto passed a basket full of stuffed animals. Normally he would have paid it no mind, except something caught his eye. On the very top of the animals, sitting as though on a throne, was a pure snowy white kitten. It's cotton "fur" was short on it's face and chest while long and puffy on it's back. It had a small blue bow tied around it's-his?- neck. What caught Seto's eye most, however, wasn't the soft pillow-y fur or the festive bow. It was the eyes. They were a rich brown, the pupils night black. From across the isle Seto knew he was falling into those eyes, drowning in the plastic sea of melted chocolate.

Overcome by this strange need to possess the kitten, Seto picked it up and resumed his course towards the video game isle.

----

After giving the new game to Mokuba, Seto retired to his study. The staff as well as his little brother figured he had just gone to do more of KaibaCorp's never-ending paperwork. The brunette had other plans. While upon his entrance he -_did_- take out his computer, it was not KaibaCorp work he was planning to do.

-_I don't understand why you keep obsessing over love. I've already explained how futile an emotion it is. It will take you no where in this world. Why don't you find something more satisfying to be the object of your obsessing, like school work or a sport?_

_Knight to E5. Seto Kaiba_-

On the small digital chessboard the black knight jumped to the square Seto had indicated in the e-mail. Somewhere in Domino City, on an identical chessboard, the black knight jumped to E5. E-mail chess, a new game Seto had invented. All it took was a quick download and two people could be playing chess halfway around the world. Ingenious, if he did think so himself. The reply came speedily.

-_I don't understand why you keep trying to make me forget this obsession. I've already explained to you how wonderful love is to me. Ignoring love will take you no where in this world. Why don't you just accept that love can be as satisfying an emotion as I say it can be? Rook to A4. I know you love. You love Mokuba don't you? Your Secret Admirer_-

It only took a moment for Seto, observing the chessboard, to choose his next move. After all, he hadn't learned absolutely nothing from Giovani. With a few ticks of the keys, he had written his response as well as his next move.

-_Touché. Bishop to C7. And can I call you something-anything-but "secret admirer" please? That phrase just annoys. Seto Kaiba._-

-_Queen to D8. Call me Samara_-

-_Samara? Like the freaky girl in the horror movies? That's an odd choice in nickname…Care to enlighten me? Pawn to D8. Seto Kaiba_-

-_It's kind of a difficult story to explain. Let's just say I have a passion for rings. Bishop to D8. Samara_-

-_That was stupid. A pawn for a queen? Not a good exchange. Knight to B4. Seto Kaiba_-

-_I'm not very good at chess, and certainly not as good as you. Pawn to D7. Samara_-

Seto looked smug. This girl certainly knew how to play to his vanity. He'd have to watch himself around her. Sipping his coffee without care, the brunette gave the clock a casual glance. The red digital numbers blared back at him; it was one minute past midnight. Sighing Seto began searching for a quick end to this chess game. Although if the players stopped sending e-mails to each other it would remain inactive until the next e-mail, Seto did not like leaving things hanging. He also did not like the amount of sleep he was losing while he stayed up to e-mail this girl. Once again he promised himself he wouldn't do this tomorrow night. It never mattered. The promise was always forgotten the next morning, and he always broke his word when he settled down the next night. This had been going on for a week now. He knew this only by the calendar; he hadn't been keeping track of the time himself.

Finding the quick fix he needed he smiled to himself. "Samara" would be upset with him for once more beating her. She would go away angry with him and forget by her next letter how angry she had been. Besides, what did she expect? He was a champion at chess.

-_Sorry to have to do this to you. Again. Queen to F7. I have to leave though. It's late. I have business to attend to early tomorrow morning. I'd end with my usual plea for you to stop contacting me, but I don't see the use. Goodnight now. Seto Kaiba._-

As he sent this e-mail, the queen on his board swept in and took the king. A mini, cartoon-like explosion rocked the board, the word "Boom!" blinking bright colors amid a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared the board was swept clean, all the white players off to the side with dead looks on their small digital faces. The black players looked as stone-y and silent as ever. A little fan-fair music played, with a banner flicking across his screen which said "You won!" He smirked as the quick connection of his computer pulled in one last reply from Samara before he signed off.

-_That's not fair! You ALWAYS win! One day I will beat you. Why do you keep asking me not to contact you? I know you enjoy it almost as much as I do. Samara._-

The screen faded to black, reflecting Seto's slightly stunned face. It regained that smirk as he stood. Obviously the girl had no idea what she was talking about. If he could end their conversations, he would. There was no way he enjoyed these e-mails at all.

A few minutes later, dressed in warm flannel to counter the increasingly cold night air, Seto climbed into his warm bed. He pulled the covers neatly all the way up to his chin, checking to make sure he wasn't wrinkling the sheets. Not far from his head, perched on a chocolate brown pillow, was the stuffed kitten he had bought that day. Although he liked having it near him, Seto would not allow himself to cuddle a stuffed animal as he slept. Moments later he had fell into a deep sleep.

Unconsciously Seto rolled over onto his side. If he were in his right mind, he wouldn't assume the tight little ball he always slept in. But he was always fast asleep when he did this and it was a subconscious thing. Reaching out long fingers, he grabbed the kitten and pulled it tight to himself. Seto would have murdered his subconscious if it ever let on that he liked to cuddle.

----

"Crikey!" Seto shouted, shoving his laptop down on the table. His eyes were very narrow, partially in anger and partially to keep others from seeing how tired he was. Never one to accept defeat easily, Seto crossed his arms on his chest and stared at the letter he was supposed to be translating. It didn't suddenly split itself open and pour out it's secret meanings. He willed it to, harder. The concentration was doing nothing but hurting his eyes. Giggling brought his attention off of the paper.

Ryou Bakura, sitting across the room behind his desk, was covering his mouth in a vain effort to contain his laughter. His eyes narrowing even further, Seto glared pure ice at him. Ryou stopped immediately, frozen in what the brunette guessed was fear. Satisfied that he had scared the albino enough, Seto turned back to his work. His voice came out as icy as his eyes.

"And what, precisely, is so funny anyways?" He asked, which proceeded a few more giggles from Bakura, before the boy was able to force the answer out.

"Is that what you call cursing? I may not curse often but even I know that's light." Bakura answered him. Seto paused before explaining.

"I try and keep my cursing to a minimum. It's easier to just not curse altogether than to try and keep a clean mouth in front of Mokuba."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, it was rude of me to laugh."

There was a silence which stretched on. Seto glared holes through the homework paper. Still the words jumbled together and taunted him. The couch shifted slightly as more weight was added to it.

"Do you want some help?" Bakura asked. Seto sneered.

"I -_don't_- need any help!" It didn't matter that he was exhausted. It didn't matter that English (1)was his worst subject and homework had been coming harder to him since his communications with Samara. Help was just something Kaibas didn't accept. Giovani had taught him that much. Involuntarily he shivered. Bakura pretended not to notice and looked at the paper Seto was griping about.

"It's simple compound sentences. Not difficult." He soothed. It was the wrong thing to say.

"I know that! Are you implying that I can't handle simple compound sentences?" Seto dared him, his voice dangerously low. Bakura knew better than to push him. Without a word, and without much obvious emotion, he stood. Seto glared him back to his desk. The albino sat and continued the typing he had been doing previously. His eyes were a shade lighter, but other than that Bakura showed no evidence that the last few minutes had happened at all. Seto set his gaze back at the translations. Deciding he could always translate them with the help of a net dictionary later, he put the paper back into his brief case. Settling back on the couch, he yawned briefly and took a nap.

----

Much later he awoke to the shaking of his albino companion. He growled and shoved the boy away. Weaker, Bakura stumbled back with a squeak and toppled over a chair. Seto stood, smirking, grabbed his brief case and left.

"Thanks for waking me. You serve as a useful alarm clock." Seto said as the bell chimed with his words.

A quick stop at his locker and a swift walk through the overcrowded halls later, Seto opened the door of his slick black limousine. Once he had sat he pulled his personal computer out of brief case as well as the translations he was supposed to be doing. The sound of the breaks squeaking slightly as they stopped at the end of the block the school was on covered Seto's initial gasp.

Stapled to the back of the sheet of translations, in a flawless duplicate of his own writing, were several English compound sentences.

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(1) English as in the language. In Japan students are required to study the English language, and considering this is technically set in Japan, Seto would have to study English too. Just to clarify incase anyone was confused.

RF: I wrote this chapter so fast for three reasons. One, Elton John is getting married on Wednesday and as my own personal celebration I wanted to show my support of gay marriage with this chapter. Two, I have break so it's so much easier. Three, you guys are so great that I just can't stand leaving you hanging if I can avoid it. So please, keep me wanting to write. Review!


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